OP-ED: Time To reopen LIRR Atlantic Branch Woodhaven Station

The underground Woodhaven Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station of the Atlantic Branch located between 98th and 100th St.'s on Atlantic Avenue in Woodhaven, Queens closed on Jan. 7, 1977, due to vandalism and declining ridership. At the time, only two trains, one in each direction, stopped at Woodhaven.

Why not reopen this still intact underground Woodhaven LIRR Station? It would require a minimum amount of work to restore this station. This would include installation of elevators for compliance with Americans with Disability Act (ADA), new lighting, security features, ticket vending machine (TVM) and signal modifications to support resumption of service. Restoration of this station on the Atlantic Avenue LIRR branch would cost less versus building a new station since it doesn't need to be built from scratch. New express bus service from the Rockaways could connect with a reopened LIRR Woodhaven Station providing new transportation options. There would be transfer opportunities to various New York City (NYC) Transit subway lines at Jamaica, East New York or Atlantic Terminal LIRR stations. Adding this stop to the new frequent shuttle service between Jamaica Station and Atlantic Terminal Brooklyn would make this reopened station attractive to thousands of potential new commuters from the surrounding community. Trains will operate every eight minutes during the morning and afternoon peak rush hour periods and every 20 minutes off peak hours.

At the East New York LIRR Station, there are direct connections to the NYC Transit A, C, L, J and Z subway lines.

At the Nostrand Avenue LIRR Station, there is a direct connection to the B44 Nostrand Avenue Select Bus Service, which runs from Williamsburg to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

At the Atlantic Terminal LIRR Station, there are direct connections to the NYC Transit 2,3,4, 5, B, D, N, Q and R subway lines, along with several NYC Transit bus routes.

At the Jamaica LIRR station, there are direct connections to the E, J and Z NYC Transit subway lines, numerous NYC Transit bus lines, Kennedy Air Train, along with the Babylon, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Huntington, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, Speonk and West Hempstead LIRR branches. Only the Port Washington branch does not stop in Jamaica. Your could also transfer at Jamaica to either Penn Station or Grand Central Madison bound trains arriving in either the west or east side of Manhattan in less then 25 minutes.

Implementation for all of the above would enhance the commuting experience and provide numerous additional service options for several hundred thousand Brooklyn and Queens commuters who have no direct access to LIRR services.

Reopening the closed Atlantic branch Woodhaven Blvd station can be completed years earlier than the proposed NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) Woodhaven Boulevard. Queens Select Bus Service Small Starts project. The estimated cost is $258 million, with a federal share of $97. NYCDOT has been unable to secure an approved Federal Transit Administration Small Starts Full Funding Grant Agreement going on six years.

The $8 billion for restoration of LIRR service on the old Rockaway Queens branch (according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) own study released four years ago), known as the Queens Link, has yet to advance beyond a final planning study released in 2019. Friends of the Queens Link have their own planning study, with an anticipated a cost of $3.7 billion. This project has yet to be admitted into the FTA Capital Investments Grants New Starts Program.

Funding for this multi billion project will have to wait until the next MTA 2025 -2029 Five Year Capital Plan. We will also have see if this project will be considered as part of the MTA's 2025 - 2044 Twenty Year Capital Needs Plan. This document was promised to be released by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber in October 2023. It would take 10 years or more to complete this multi billion dollar project.

Reopening the old LIRR Atlantic branch Woodhaven Boulevard. Station is the best bet for neighborhood residents of all three options.

The MTA could pay for capital improvements to reopen this station by applying for various formula and competitive annual FTA grant programs.

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Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions of dollars in grants which provided funding for capital projects and programs to the NY MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island and Metro North Rail Roads, MTA Bus, NYC DOT, NJ Transit and more than 30 transit agencies in New York and New Jersey.

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